PHOENIX – Phoenix Rising FC announced on Friday the club had signed midfielder and Phoenix native Jose Andres Hernandez ahead of the 2023 USL Championship season, bringing a former local standout back to Arizona. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

Born in Ixtapan de la Sal, Mexico, the midfielder attended Maryvale High School in Phoenix. Hernandez was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Western Conference U-18 Player of the Year in 2014-15 while competing for RSL-Arizona Academy before attending UCLA for two seasons prior to joining the professional ranks.

“I am very happy to be working with Jose once again,” said Rising FC Head Coach Juan Guerra, who coached Hernandez at Oakland Roots SC prior to his arrival at Phoenix midway through the 2022 season. “Not many players in our league read the game the way he does. He is a technically clean and a dynamic player that suits our style of play very well.”

After being voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for the Bruins, Hernandez signed as a Homegrown Player with Real Salt Lake in 2017 and made seven appearances in Major League Soccer, scoring one goal. During that span, Hernandez also competed in the USL Championship on loan with Real Monarchs SLC, scoring two goals in eight appearances as the Monarchs’ earned the best regular season record in the league in 2017.

Since then, he has also competed in the Championship for the LA Galaxy II and OKC Energy FC before spending the past two seasons with Oakland Roots SC. Overall, the 26-year-old has made 126 appearances in the Championship’s regular season and has recorded 11 goals and 11 assists.

“I’m a very attacking-orientated player but I’ll give my all game-in and game-out,” said Hernandez. “I’m not afraid of doing the dirty work or getting gritty. My footy, at the end of the day, will speak for itself. I want the ball. I like to connect passes and not turn the ball over – being classy with it and being exciting to watch.”